Weight loss = loss of watts

Hello, I am in that I have lost 3 kgs in a month, now I am in 66 kg and 177 cms, I am in SSB2 Mid Volume, I am in the sixth week (the recovery), in the fifth the training was very difficult for example:

  • Lamarck (4X10 ‘100% with 2’ of recovery) I was very hard, and the last series I had to lower to 95% intensity. with cadences of 99.97.94 and the last 95% with cadence 92.

This week of recovery I have felt like without strength, in training sessions like “Pettit” or “Volunteer” that are regenerative, it has cost me to maintain a cadence of 100.
The only explanation I see is due to weight loss, although I try to maintain my daily protein intake at 20% to avoid losing muscle mass, including protein at breakfast (with shake), lunch and dinner.
Seeing that next Tuesday I have the Ramp test, I see myself coming that will give less watts than 6 weeks ago, as you do to lose weight and keep watts?

It’s quite common to feel awful during a ‘recovery week’. Keep at it, retest and see where you are.

A loss of 3kg in a month is unlikely to have a huge effect on your power. Earlier this year I lost around the same and managed to increase my FTP.

Edit: are you trying to lose weight? How many calories are you consuming?

Those questions are key - I doubt you are losing any significant muscle mass unless something dramatic is going on.

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I completed SSBLV1 and lost 2+KG but I went up in wattage.

I noticed as well that the recovery week felt harder than I thought it would, but I think it’s also something psychological. I guess for me it’s due to the weeks before where I had to have a high focus and pushing myself and then being asked to do something which requires less focus in the recovery week, it just feels harder for me.

I have the same thing with my job, when it’s high stress and no room for error I preform a lot better than in a quiet period where I cannot seem to apply the same focus and end up making errors.

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I have sedentary work, I work sitting almost all the time, according to MFP I consume about 1900 calories on rest days with 40% carbohydrates, 40% of fats and 20% of proteins. The days of training increase the calorie intake and try to maintain the coefficients, although carbohydrates tend to shoot up. I must also say that since the middle of last week I have had a cold and now I am getting the green mucus jejeje

Well, that kind of says it all really :smile:. 3 kg weight loss in a month is fairly stable, I don’t think you lost a lot of muscle mass, your lack of performance is most likely linked to the cold and maybe SSB2 mid volume was a bit too much of a training load for you? The harder the workout weeks, the deeper you dip during your recovery weeks.

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In most training plans, especially sweet spot base, if you hit every session and every interval, you will be needing that recovery week and its quite likely you will feel real tired.

Rest up and retest next week. You might be surprised with the results.

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I think you’ve answered your own question, in that you’re at the end of a block of training and you’re getting ill. It’s not surprising that you’re feeling fatigued!

I have been focussing on losing weight for the last few months, before starting on my TR plan for the year and during SSB I MV. I have lost quite a lot of weight and with it have also lost a bit of raw power, but my W/kg has increased. That has been with the specific goal of weight loss though, I wouldn’t expect to see a power drop due to weight loss for you training with the calorie intake you describe.

Make sure you’re rested and recovered before starting the next block and taking the ramp test, and then you’ll see where you’re really at. Only worry about it if you do indeed see a significant drop in FTP or W/kg.

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I think your issues are, as identified by others, possibly tied to your sickness and not your weight loss.

However, I’d like to bring this back to the original question…

I think it depends very much on your relative weight and leanness whether or not weight loss will impact your FTP. Several people have said that losing 3 kg over a month is relatively stable. I think this is an incorrect, or at least insufficiently nuanced, position.

Essentially - 3kg weight loss for someone with a BMI of 25 and a total mass of 100kg is relatively little and should have little impact whereas a 3kg weight loss for someone with a BMI of 20 and a total mass of 50kg is a significant loss and would likely impact your FTP in a noticeable way.

So…without context of your prior weight and how lean you were going into this it is hard to say whether losing 3 kg in a month is a significant thing that would impact your FTP negatively or not

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OP mentioned up top that they went from 69kg to 66kg.

20% is probably a bit low for a calorie deficit phase. I’d shoot more for 30-35%.

Lamarck is a challenging workout. I wouldn’t worry about this result.

Don’t give up hope. Just relax during the rest of the recovery week, maybe take an extra day fully off if you need and give it your all on the Ramp Test.

If you go backwards on FTP, then it’s probably worth upping your calorie targets.

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Lean muscle mass (LBM) loss isn’t prevented by drinking protein. LBM loss is predominately based on total energy intake (meeting your calorie needs each day).

If you’re at the end of a block, getting ill, losing weight rapidly, and feel worn out those are all signs and symptoms of poor nutrition.

Rapid weight loss is typically fluid shifts (water loss) mixed with some fat loss if that was a goal. Rapid fluid shifts accompany low carbohydrate (CHO) or CHO depleted stores. Water binds to glycogen to form muscle glycogen and adds significant water weight on any given day. Low carbs or few carbs with repeated depleting workouts and you have little muscle glycogen stores = less water weight bound in the muscle; lot less water weight.

Assess your energy needs. Find a sports dietitian that’s what they do. Assess body composition. Get your LBM #. DEXA for accuracy. Nokia or Tanita BIA scale for convenience and repeatability. Following DEXA or getting your LBM use the cunningham equation instead of mifflin or harris the typical online energy calculator.

Cunningham utilizes LBM and allows you to better tailor total energy needs.

Figured I’d give back after posting my first question on forum yesterday.

AndrewD - RDN, CSSD, CEC, USAT I

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In functional mass that is being stimulated, yes, it is prevented.

See page two here: http://online.fliphtml5.com/mrom/hiie/

Right - but all the people who minimized his weight loss did not provide similar details.

The OP went from 22 BMI to 21 BMI (roughly) so he was already fairly healthy. The people saying they also lost 3 KG could’ve had a BMI well over 25, or well under 20 - without this information their dismissal of the OPs weight loss is without context and thus not helpful to him

That’s a nice article and at face value you could make the assessment that protein intake alone would preserve LBM. That’s not how the entire process works. Extracting absolutes from the literature (closed controlled studies with specific populations) and applying them to real life case studies is problematic at best.

Additionally, PRO intake a 2.3g/kg as the article suggests is highly unlikely to be recommended to most anyone. PRO intake is the most well researched nutrient for sports performance and the guidelines are pretty clear. Which points even more towards energy deficiency because that large of a PRO intake would displace CHO/FAT the preferred fuel sources. In that scenario PRO is broken down and used as glucose so not all would be available for LBM synthesis.

Leucine content of protein does stimulate LBM synthesis. Protein is also a protected nutrient that is not favored for energy. And yes, you can build LBM in a caloric deficit if done properly, but the OP’s own information indicates someone at 145# losing weight that rapidly in one month is not.

AndrewD - RDN, CSSD, CEC, USAT I

I’m curious why you think this is the case. I’m currently around 75kg and am consuming 200-220g of protein a day and still running a caloric deficit most days.

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I guess I’m in the “highly unlikely category as well” for taking in 150g per day and running a caloric deficit.

Typo. It’s corrected. It’s not a common recommendation 2.3g/kg. 2.0-2.5 g/kg is reserved for periodization - mostly around body composition goals or power sports.

I presented my own example of weight loss and FTP gain precisely to highlight that weight loss needs to be seen in context (your point also I believe).

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